PHILADELPHIA – The manner in which Antonio Pierce appreciates the defensive linemen who play in front of him is similar to the way a quarterback views the offensive linemen who protect him. And so, as Pierce is having a big-impact first season with the Giants, he acknowledges the work of a group his calls “my line.”

“Whenever you talk about a good middle linebacker, it always starts with the defensive front,” Pierce said. “We got guys not really worried about the fame and getting their name called on every play or every tackle. They’re doing their job and when they get the opportunity to make a play, like [Kendrick] Clancy did, they make it.”

It was Clancy who last week barged in to wreck a handoff between Drew Bledsoe and Julius Jones, causing the fumble that Pierce scooped up and took 12 yards for a touchdown. When the Giants face the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field today, Pierce again expects Clancy on the interior and Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora on the outside to control the traffic in front of him.

“For those guys to hold off 600 pounds for me to get across that blocker and make that tackle, that’s big time,” Pierce said.

Pierce leads the Giants with 96 tackles and, surprisingly, 11 passes defensed, and he certainly deserves Pro Bowl consideration. Reminded that quarterbacks often reward their linemen or take them along to Hawaii if they are selected to the Pro Bowl, Pierce smiled. “I don’t have no problem taking those guys with me if I make the Pro Bowl,” he said.

The line could be further bolstered by the return of William Joseph, who missed the past three games with a dislocated elbow.

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The Giants are worried about the Eagles (5-7) having a go-for-broke attitude as they’ve dropped out of the playoff chase. ” ‘What do we got to lose’; if they have that attitude, it’s definitely a dangerous team,” WR Plaxico Burress said. “You kind of find out as a player, when you’re in that situation you play your best football and we can’t let that happen to us.”

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Giants are looking for their first season sweep of the Eagles since 2000. . . . Tiki Barber has rushed for more than 100 yards in four consecutive games vs. the Eagles. In his career, he’s averaged 5.4 yards per carry vs. Philly. . . .

How much of a loss was the season-ending injury (sprained right foot) to RB Brian Westbrook? He was the only player in the NFL to lead his team in rushing (617 yards) and receiving (61 receptions for 616 yards), and he was tied for the team lead in scoring with 44 points.